Central Banking
Basel Committee flags further issues with bank modelling
Second study of variation in credit risk modelling using internal ratings-based approach sheds further light on what is causing banks to calculate significantly different capital requirements
Central bank gold purchases near record levels
World Gold Council argues negative interest rates make gold a favourable asset, but Thomson Reuters team sees other factors at play
Maechler says SNB plans to wield hefty balance sheet to encourage good governance
Swiss National Bank’s balance sheet has ballooned following currency interventions, leading to the question of what to do with the newly acquired assets
Redesigned digital currency could keep central banks in control
Researchers at UCL launch “RSCoin” idea, highlighting its superiority over bitcoin; new digital currency framework would be controlled by central banks
Dudley hits back at plans to curb Fed discretion
New York Fed chief says plans to force Fed to follow a monetary policy rule would lead to “significant policy errors”; supports transparency, but within bounds
MAS and BoJ announce fintech push
Singaporean and Japanese central banks establish centres aimed at developing hyped sector; describe monetary authorities as ideal "catalysts" for technological development
Ghana governor steps down four months early
Bank of Ghana governor has stepped down over four months early; retirement date due to “long outstanding leave days”, central bank says
Hungarian constitutional court strikes down central bank law
Hungary’s two highest courts rule that a law limiting the disclosure of information on central bank assets is unlawful and unconstitutional
Canadian economy may find ‘new balance’ at lower potential growth, Patterson says
Hit to the commodities sector likely to have knock-on effects, lowering broader investment and harming potential growth, deputy governor warns
FRTB data standards seen as threat to emerging markets
Need for "real" prices will limit use of models, increasing capital burden
UK mint starts production of ‘ground-breaking’ pound coins
Elements from the emblems of all four UK nations will feature on reverse of the coin; details of certain counterfeiting features revealed
Riksbank paper finds BVAR models can outperform DSGE
Bayesian vector autoregressions often produce better forecasts than judgement-based or DSGE-based options, authors find – but DSGE is still more popular for policy-making
Policy-makers could use fraud patterns as economic indicator – paper
Positive relationship exists between bank fraud and the macroeconomy, Chicago Fed risk specialist finds, suggesting fraud could offer an early warning sign of crisis
FSB intrigued by potential uses of distributed ledgers
Mark Carney says FSB members see ‘exciting opportunities’ in financial technology, including the potential for distributed ledgers to bring security and efficiency
Italian firms' leverage well above average, study finds
Italian non-financial companies’ leverage ratios are significantly above the eurozone average, a working paper shows
People: Bank Negara reappoints deputy; State Bank of Pakistan revamps board
Sukudhew Singh will serve another three years as deputy; Pakistan appoints new board members
Latin American countries may be especially exposed to US monetary policy, paper finds
These economies may be more vulnerable than most emerging markets to the normalisation of US monetary policy, claims a Bank of Spain paper
BoJ’s Funo calls for efforts to revive potential growth
Board member uses first speech to back continued expansionary policy, highlighting steps that could help raise Japan’s potential growth from current depressed levels
Chinese and Czech central bank enlarge MoU to include crisis management
Czech National Bank and China’s banking regulator have deepened their existing memorandum of understanding to include working together on crisis-hit banks, Czech governor says
Angolan central bank hikes again amid soaring inflation
Inflation breaches 20% in February prompting central bank to raise interest rates to 14%; new governor continues tightening cycle in attempt to curb prices
Fed picks McKinsey to scrutinise faster payment proposals
Consultancy firm will assess options for a real-time system across the US, as task force members are invited to submit proposals
Yellen: volatile global outlook calls for gradual hikes
Fed chair soothes market concerns over pace of rate rises, highlighting importance of low rates in offsetting troubles abroad and saying rates will rise more slowly than previously indicated
Eurozone monetary policies ‘virtually exhausted’, Dutch central bank head says
Eurozone monetary policy is “virtually exhausted”, Dutch central bank head warns; structural reforms are needed to restore growth rates
BoE moves to tighten buy-to-let standards as risks rise
Review of buy-to-let lending finds some firms may be relying on weaker underwriting standards than others; FPC warns UK financial stability outlook has worsened since last meeting